xymnovel Chapter 141 The Great War That Can Erupt at Any Moment
Chapter 141 The Great War That Can Erupt at Any Moment
Chapter 141 The Great Battle That Is About to Erupt
South of Beicang, in the wheat fields on both sides of the official road.
Li Wenzhong divided his 500 cavalrymen into companies, and the five companies spread out in a fan shape along the official road from Beicang to Tianjin, with each company half a mile apart, using whistling arrows as a signal.
The first company, positioned in the center, advanced along the official road, searching for the Mongol cavalry. The second and third companies deployed to the left flank, while the fourth and fifth companies deployed to the right flank, searching for the Mongol cavalry.
The platoon leader of the second platoon of the third company was named Zhang Huai, one of the death angels recently summoned by Zeng Tai. He rode a California horse, leading more than twenty riders from the second platoon in a search towards the northwest.
After searching for about half an hour, a village came into view.
The village was small, with only a few dozen households. The square rammed earth walls were about ten feet high, and a moat was dug around the perimeter to protect the village.
But at that moment, the gate in the southeast corner of the village opened, and beside the gate lay corpses shot by arrows. Laughter and cries came from inside, extremely jarring.
Zhang Huai raised his right hand, and the twenty-odd riders behind him simultaneously sped up, charging straight into the village.
Upon entering the village, one is greeted by a wide threshing ground. A stone mill is tilted to one side, and dozens of corpses, both men and women, are scattered in the yard, with blood flowing from beneath their bodies.
Seven or eight Mongol cavalrymen were surrounding three young women. Their clothes were torn open, one of them was already motionless, and the other two were still struggling on the ground, making intermittent sobs.
boom! boom! boom!
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Huai and the first few assassins pulled the triggers.
The bullets struck the heads or chests of the Mongols, piercing through flesh and bone, and exiting from the other side. Within seconds, the bodies of the seven or eight Mongols went limp and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"There's still some commotion in the distance. Second squad leader, third squad leader, go and slaughter those beasts!"
"yes!"
The second and third squad leaders, who had just arrived, led fourteen men straight to the west, their killing intent palpable.
Soon, they ran into the Mongols who had heard the gunshots.
More than twenty Mongol cavalrymen brandished their blood-stained sabers, grinning as they charged toward the suicide squad. But their grins quickly froze.
Sixteen carbines fired simultaneously, and the first volley knocked more than half of the Mongol cavalry off their horses.
A horse, startled, neighed and began to flee wildly. The Mongol cavalryman on its back lost his footing and fell from the horse.
But his feet were still hanging in the stirrups, and his head was being dragged by the frightened horse, which plowed a furrow in the ground until the furrow turned red.
"They're out of bullets! Kill all those bastards!"
The surviving Mongol cavalrymen, their eyes bloodshot, spurred their horses and increased their speed.
The suicide soldiers calmly watched the approaching Mongol cavalry, slowly pulling the trigger levers of their guns. Brass cartridges bounced out and clattered to the ground.
The new bullet was loaded within seconds, and the aim was reset.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Another round of gunfire rang out, and the remaining Mongol cavalrymen fell from their horses, leaving only their masterless horses to flee through the village.
Zhang Huai arrived at this moment and shouted, "Go and cut off the heads of those Mongols, then gather the horses together. Third Squad Leader, you take the horses to the North Granary later!"
"Yes!" the squad leader replied.
Fifteen miles north of Tianjin, there is a Guandi Temple.
Company Commander Zhao Dapeng stood in front of the offering table in the main hall of the Guandi Temple, with a hand-drawn map he had brought from Tianjin spread out in front of him.
He pointed the tip of his dagger at a location on the map and said, "Judging from the quantity and freshness of the horse manure we found earlier, the Qing cavalry is not far from us; they should be near this location."
Several platoon leaders were crowded around the offering table. One of them said, "Our scouts have already gone after them. We'll have news soon."
The platoon leader had barely finished speaking when his expression shifted, and he chuckled, "Found them! They're at the inn in the northeast corner of Beicang!"
The inn near Beicang had been abandoned for a long time; half of the roof had collapsed, one wall had fallen down, and the inside was filled with dried cow and horse dung.
When they arrived, they saw several thousand Mongol cavalrymen on horseback leading a group of captured refugees on the road.
The group of disaster victims had their hands tied, and a long rope passed through each person's wrist, linking more than a dozen people together in a line.
Some disaster victims lost their footing and fell to the ground. The horses that were dragging the crowd in front of them did not stop and were dragged along the ground by their ropes.
A cavalryman, who was patrolling around the rope, burst into laughter upon seeing this scene, and lashed his whip at the horse's rump to make it run faster.
Zuo Ling Bayar rode on a dark blue horse, squinting as he counted the number of disaster victims he had captured.
This trip has been quite fruitful. He's already made plans in his mind: after sending these people back, he can go and capture two more truckloads of people, earning some money for the brothers while also completing the mission. When the rewards are distributed later, he might even get a promotion.
"The sound of horses' hooves? Are people coming to join us?"
A Mongol cavalryman heard the rapid sound of hooves and turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.
He squinted at the approaching hundred or so men, then his expression suddenly changed drastically as he recognized their clothing.
"Enemy attack!"
The piercing shouts echoed all around, throwing the Mongol cavalry into chaos.
Bayar abruptly turned his horse around, glaring at the charging cavalry. He saw warhorses a head taller than Mongolian horses, their riders wielding muskets, charging towards them.
"Don't panic!"
Bayar drew his sword, his roar instantly drowning out the surrounding noise: "Run! Draw your bows and fire at them! Quickly!"
Upon hearing the commanding officer's voice, the Mongol cavalry instinctively obeyed. They drew their bows, and dozens of arrows flew out sparsely, striking the charging cavalry.
"They're launching missiles from two or three hundred meters away? These guys are hopeless!"
Without pausing, Zhao Dapeng and his group laughed as they watched the rain of arrows fall to the ground, and raised their carbines.
With the sound of gunfire, soldiers around Bayar fell one after another. A young cavalryman to his left rear was shot in the neck, and blood gushed from the wound, splattering half of Bayar's face.
Bayar wiped his face with his sleeve, shouted orders, and charged towards Zhao Dapeng's cavalry, attempting to finish them off in close combat.
But it was all in vain; the battle was over in just a few minutes.
Dozens of Mongol cavalrymen were all killed. Zhao Dapeng stepped forward and used his dagger to cut the long rope that was holding the disaster victims together.
The bound refugees collapsed to the ground, some kowtowing repeatedly to Zhao Dapeng, their foreheads slamming against the ground with loud thuds: "Thank you, sir, for saving our lives! Thank you, sir, for saving our lives!"
Zhao Dapeng didn't say anything, but simply distributed the dry rations he had to the disaster victims.
When they saw the dry rations, they were like hungry wolves seeing meat, and they devoured them.
A little child, still wearing a cotton-padded coat, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stood not far away, staring blankly at Zhao Dapeng and the others.
The child was about three or four years old, quiet and still, neither crying nor fussing. The cotton-padded jacket was originally probably bright red, but now it was stained grayish-brown with mud and dirt, and the cuffs were worn out, revealing the blackened cotton wadding inside.
"Where are the child's relatives?" Zhao Dapeng asked.
A refugee who was eating a flatbread looked up and mumbled, "Sir, they're probably dead. This morning the Mongols came to arrest people and killed many."
Zhao Dapeng remained silent for a moment, then squatted down to be at eye level with the child.
"What's your name?" he asked.
The child just stared at him blankly, without saying a word.
"Send someone to take this child to Tanghe's place, and give him some water and food along the way."
Zhao Dapeng said helplessly, "The rest of you, cut off the cavalrymen's heads and gather their horses. After that, we'll continue searching forward!"
Yangcun, the Qing army camp.
Senggelinqin sat in a pearwood armchair, holding a blue-and-white porcelain teacup in his hand. The tea was freshly brewed hot, and the tea soup was emerald green.
The curtain of the general's tent was lifted from the outside, and a gust of wind rushed in, making the papers on the table rustle.
The one who entered was Deleng'e, one of Senggelinqin's personal guards. He knelt on one knee, his voice urgent: "Your Highness, scouts report that a large number of cavalry and infantry have poured out of Tianjin City!"
Senggelinqin paused, his hand holding the teacup still. He placed the teacup on the table and asked, "Have you seen the exact quantity?"
Deleng'e said, "There are about five hundred cavalry and no less than two thousand infantry. Scouts observed from a distance that these rebels' horses are generally a head taller than ours, and they are all equipped with cavalry. Their marching formation is extremely orderly, and their advances and retreats are measured. They are undoubtedly elite troops!"
"The horses are larger than Mongolian horses, fully equipped with pheasant-feathered bridles, and move with measured steps." Senggelinqin repeated, then sneered, "Da Nian has indeed already sided with the foreigners."
Deleng'e was somewhat puzzled: "Your Highness, what do you mean by that?"
Senggelinqin pointed to the map on the table and slowly said, "Where did Tianjin get so many fine horses? And where did it get so many muskets?"
"If I am not mistaken, the Dagu Forts were occupied to facilitate the transport of troops and horses by the foreigners from the sea. Foreign horses and foreign guns, coupled with the rebels' existing forces in Tianjin, this is the source of Da Nian's confidence to rebel."
"I see, Your Highness is wise!"
Deleng'e suddenly realized what was going on and asked, "But why did that traitor Danian suddenly send troops out of the city at this time?"
Senggelinqin took a sip of tea and shook his head: "I don't know either, but this matter is indeed beneficial to us."
"There aren't many soldiers in Tianjin who can fight. These two thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry are probably all the elite troops that Da Nian can muster."
"Once we take them down, Tianjin will be a ghost town and will fall without a fight."
Deleng'e raised his head: "What does Your Highness mean?"
"Pass down the order."
Senggelinqin said, "Immediately send men on horseback to catch up with Shi Rongchun and tell him that the mission at Dagu Port is suspended. I want to deal with those 2,500 men first, and let him find an opportunity to fight on his own."
"Send out all the scouts. I need to know where those two thousand five hundred men are and what they are doing."
"All other troops, move out. Tomorrow at dawn, I want to see all the troops lined up and waiting south of Yang Village."
"Yes, sir!" Deleng'e clasped his hands in response, turned around, and strode out of the command tent.
After the order was issued from the commander's tent, a deep bugle call sounded throughout the Yangcun camp.
The order was given to the cavalry to leave the camp first. Three fast horses filed out of the camp gate, their hooves kicking up a trail of yellow dust, and chased after Shi Rongchun's army.
Then the scouts also mounted their horses, splitting into four or five groups, each with three or five people, and each heading south to find the team that had come from Tianjin.
On the drill ground, soldiers from each battalion began to assemble. The signal flag was raised in the center of the drill ground, and the flag bearers of each battalion carried their flags and ran to their respective positions. Infantry and cavalry returned to their units under the guidance of the signal flags.
The servants carried gunpowder barrels and shell boxes onto mule carts, while the artillerymen pushed bronze and cast iron cannons out of the gun sheds and mounted them one by one onto the front of the cannon carts.
The camp gates swung open, and the army officially broke camp. The cavalry went out first, followed by the infantry, and finally the artillery and baggage train, all heading south towards the Beicang area.
The two groups clashed on the morning of the following day.
First, the scouts on both sides encountered each other on this open plain. The two sides retreated immediately after the initial clash, leaving only a few corpses at the scene of the encounter.
Then, the infantry on both sides could see each other.
The Qing army quickly changed formation, with thousands of Mongol cavalry and Green Standard Army soldiers spreading out on the wide plain, their lines stretching for miles.
The central flank consisted of the main infantry force, with spearmen in front and musketeers and archers in the rear. Twelve bronze and cast iron cannons were positioned in front of the lines. Five hundred cavalrymen were deployed on each of the left and right flanks, each commanded by a different commander from the Khorchin tribe.
Senggelinqin sat on the donkey cart, raised his monocular telescope, and looked south.
Two kilometers away, Xinghantang's troops were also lined up.
Two thousand infantrymen were lined up in several rows, with ten cannons lined up in front of them, their barrels longer than any foreign cannons he had ever seen.
Five hundred cavalrymen assembled to the right rear of the infantry formation. The riders tightened their reins, and the horses were indeed a size larger than Mongolian horses.
Senggelinqin lowered his binoculars and asked, "Where are Shi Rongchun's troops now?"
The guard beside him replied, "The message was sent last night; they are twenty miles away."
"Send someone to inform Shi Rongchun to bring his men as soon as possible and attack the other side from both sides."
Senggelinqin gave an order, then looked at the many generals under his command and said, "The rebels number 2,500, and they have muskets and several long-range foreign cannons."
"But today we'll show them that war is fought by people, and their strange and ingenious techniques are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs before the mighty Qing army!"
My deployment is as follows:
After the battle began, the artillery bombarded first. Twelve cannons fired simultaneously, not aiming for accuracy, but only to break their formation and suppress their artillery.
As soon as the cannons fired, the cavalry on both flanks attacked simultaneously. Remember, do not charge head-on. Instead, flank around from the outside of the left and right flanks, flanking the rebels from the rear and cutting off their retreat.
No matter how powerful the rebels' muskets are, they can only fire in one direction. If they attack from both sides simultaneously, they cannot protect each other.
Once the enemy formation is disrupted, the infantry in the middle should advance in full force. Spearmen and swordsmen should charge forward, while musketeers and archers should provide ranged support.
"9
"Do you understand?"
The generals clasped their fists in unison, the clanging of their armor echoing throughout the tent: "Your humble servants will obey Your Highness's orders!"